The training planning has already started.

Well, sort of.. this blog is meant to be partly about the preparation for the ride. A good place to start could be by taking a look at Phil Deeker’s (TdF’s lead cyclist) recommendations. These are very conveniently placed on the Tour de Force web-site, so we thought we might start by checking to make sure we are on course. Surprisingly, brief exmination reveals we seem to be ticking all the right boxes. See below.

1. Keep a training diary. We’ll start this immediately, tick

2. Ride lots. Mmm…. half tick, maybe no tick just yet.

3. Progress progressively. This must mean "don’t train much at first"… tick

4. Feed yourself correctly. Protein and carbs equals steak and chips. Already doing really well here, double tick!!.

5. Look after your body. Mmm.. again, this sounds nice, will give this a try, tick.

6. Look after your bike. Nick thinks Matt will take care of this bit and Matt thinks Nick will, tick again.

7. Ride with others. Have training companion, will ride … eventually – tick.

8. Create a supportive environment. We will definitely encourage each other, tick.

That makes eight out of eight! We are making amazing progress. Our sponsor(s) will be dead impressed, but I am not sure we can keep up this sort of pace.

24 cans of baked beans a day! Start here.

The blog of two riders Matt and Nick Woodall preparing to ride the 2,100 mile bike ride over 3 weeks. Follow their preparations and the highs and lows of the event. 

Matt and Nick both developed the lust for lycra three years ago when they did their Lands End to John O'Groats cycle ride, now they want more. Next year, in June  they  will both be riding the "Tour de Force" over the whole route of the 100th Tour de France in the same number of days as the professionals but one week ahead of them.  

This ride is 3,360km (2,100miles) long, equivalent to riding from Norwich to Cairo. We will climb by bike the equivalent of Scafell Pike, Ben Nevis, Snowdon,  Mont Blanc, Kilimanjaro and Everest along the way, whilst at the same time averaging over 100 miles a day.  We have been warned that we will need to turn the pedals over a million times and each of us will produce enough sweat to flush a loo 39 times! The good news is that we will need over 8000 calories a day so we will be able to eat 20 Mars bars or 24 large cans of baked beans every day. . ... if we can find the time.

We will be riding for the William Wates Memorial Trust http://www.wwmt.org to raise much needed funds to support  projects helping deprived children in inner city locations.

Please follow the blog and support the charity by offloading some cash at Bmycharity at: http://www.bmycharity.com/Woodall. All the money we raise goes to the William Wates Memorial Trust. The riders will pay all our own expenses.